Southern California -- this just in

Hundreds of new parking meters going up in L.A.

July 25, 2012 | 8:00
am

Weeks after they hiked the fines for dozens of parking violations, elected leaders in L.A. voted Tuesday to add more than 400 parking meters to a pair of neighborhoods.

The City Council agreed to install 247 meters on streets in Palms, just north of Culver City near the 10 Freeway. Another 190 will go up in a part of Westchester near Los Angeles International Airport, on streets such as Airport Boulevard, Century Boulevard and 98th Street.

The changes are designed to keep drivers from parking all day in the same spot in those two neighborhoods. Within a few years, the meters are expected to generate more than $280,000 annually for the city, according to the proposal.

The council voted this month to hike parking fines by $5, the sixth increase in the last seven years. The fine for parking at an expired meter is now $63, up 80% from 2005, the year Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa took office.